Human Resources [Explicit]

Hailing from the streets of Belfast, Tin Pot Operation are a 4-piece who play a genre-straddling blend of guitar music. 'Human Resources' is their second full length album and sees the band developing and expanding the sounds and themes that characterized their debut 'Manufacturing Dissent' and the more recent e.p. 'Here it's The Tin Pot Operation'.
Accurately pinning down their music is a tough task - songs can flirt simultaneously with rock, indie, ska, punk and trad without committing entirely to any one style. The assertion that they can be tough to classify is in no means intended to infer that the band are inaccessible, on the contrary: Tin Pot Operations songs blast out of the speakers with an immediacy and urgency sadly lacking in many of their contemporaries. Genre-justification aside, here we have a collection of songs with choppy guitar hooks, driving drumbeats and baselines that add swing and flair without ever spiraling.
In terms of vocals, Tinpot Operation's cause is helped enormously by the simple fact that they are one of only a handful of bands hailing from Belfast in the past twenty years to sing in their own accents. They prove that the Belfast accent can be surprisingly flexible - few would be surprised to hear that it provides the perfect vocal pitch on the closing maniacal cacophony of 'Cold', but on tracks like 'Right and Wrong' and 'One Night' it lends itself beautifully to a more soulful, empathetic tone. The accent not only imbues Tin Pot Operations songs with sincerity and a sense of place that is integral to their politically charged music, but also allows for some priceless rhyming couplets: think 'Guevara' and 'Tomorrow' don't rhyme? Think again!
Indeed the range of vocal expression is impressive throughout, harmonies are blissfully organic and devoid of overlays and digital tweaking, while it's great to hear singers actually straining to reach for notes - simply put if they can't hit it live they don't pretend to be able to hit it on this record. That philosophy seems to have extended to every aspect of production - 'Human Resources' does an admirable job of recreating the Tin Pot Operations raucous live sound, it is lightly and sensitively mixed, honing their twangy live energy and enthusiastic delivery impeccably.
Tin Pot Operations music has always been of a political bent, something that most Belfast acts have conspicuously and religiously avoided (with the notable exception of the punk bands). It seems that most of the Tin Pot Operations contemporaries feel the need to shy away from politics and instead write a steady stream of increasingly vacuous ditties in the hope of landing the soundtrack to the next big mobile phone advertisement. 'Human Resources', I am pleased to say, continues to address political issues, though it is perhaps not as overtly political as 'Manufacturing Dissent'. The tone in many songs is more sociological than political - themes are raised more subtilely in stories of ordinary people in ordinary situations. Tin Pot Operation remain excellent storytellers, they are a band that are often (wrongly) accused of taking themselves too seriously, but anybody who takes the time to listen will find real wit and humour in much of their writing. That colloquial humour is perhaps best exemplified here in the gloriously tongue-in-cheek 'Riot Song' - which is up there with the Stiff Little Fingers 'Barbed Wire Love' for OTT brilliance.
'Human Resources' is an excellent listen - Tin Pot Operation sound a little bit like a lot of bands but somehow have forged a strong identity of their own. Likewise every song here is strong, and despite the amount of musical diversity on offer, the album holds together excellently as a single body of work. It's tough to pick standout tracks in an album of such consistency, but I'd plump for the opener 'Sooner or Later' with it's surf-rock drum intro and percussive vocals in the verses, the high-speed shanty of 'Tell the Kids' and the wistful soul of 'One Night'.
For me this is an absolute must-buy, but if you still need convincing head to the bands Myspace site where you can download a free copy of the single 'Sitting There'. Enjoy!